How I Live 2019
Distributed by New Day Films, 350 North Water Street Unit 1-12, Newburgh, NY 12550; 888-367-9154
Produced by Meghan Shea and Mike Rogers
Directed by Meghan Shea
Streaming, 87 mins
College - General Adult
Childhood Cancer; Global Health; Health Services
Date Entered: 09/10/2021
Reviewed by Bradley Long, Embedded Health Sciences Librarian, Pennsylvania State UniversityHow I Live is a documentary that follows four international children with cancer and their families as they navigate the low resource health systems of their counties. The children are from Egypt, Ghana, Guatemala, and Myanmar. El Salvador is also significantly covered, without following a particular patient. The individual physicians and care teams from these five nations are also central figures in this film. The individual cases are generally followed over a period of at least two years, with some lasting for several years.
The issues facing specialty pediatric cancer hospitals and other health care systems within these countries are also covered. A key component to increasing childhood cancer survival rates is the ever-developing international cooperation among oncologists. A daunting task, however, is how to effectively reach childhood cancer patients in areas where transportation to care, are a major issue. Unfortunately, this often falls on the families, with support from their local communities. One positive is that the actual costs of oncological care are usually free-to-minimal for the families. Even though both the World Health Organization and United Nations play key roles in helping low to middle income nations develop better care, the resourcefulness of these nations is strongly featured within this film.
The film provides more than sufficient subtitles, as many of film's subjects do not speak English. The subtitles also appear to be culturally sensitive translations. The film does not significantly draw on one's emotions, as it is intended to be an educational film. It also does not promote donations to international health organizations, even though some organizations are featured as providing resources and/or care.
This film should work well within the curriculums of global/international health education, public health education, advanced-level nursing education, and medical schools. Social justice-related education would also benefit from access to this film. It could also be used in conjunction with community outreach programs, in order to better demonstrate the successes and challenges faced by pediatric cancer patients living in low resource environments.
Awards: Best Director, Chambal International Film Festival (2020); Finalist, Health for All Film Festival World Health Organization (2020); Best Feature Film, Fisheye Film Festival
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